Chibi-Maru Fleet Yugumo

The real subject

Yugumo was a destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the first ship of the class of the same name, which came about on the eve of the war in the Pacific. It was a fast escort vessel with gun and torpedo armament, intended for escorting groups and for night attacks, that is for the tasks on which Japanese destroyers built their reputation.

What the Chibi-Maru Fleet line is

Chibi-Maru Fleet works real warships up in a deliberately shortened and simplified form. The hull is pulled into a short, stocky shape while the superstructures and the armament stay large and legible, so the result comes across as a caricature of the original. It is therefore not a scaled-down version in an exact scale but a stylized model that keeps the recognizable marks of the subject.

Building and painting

• Keep to the order of the steps in the instructions; the superstructures go onto a finished hull.
• Wash and degrease the parts before painting; the paint then holds considerably better.
• Clean edges show on a small area, so spray in thin coats.
• Bond the small armament parts only at the end, as they break off easily.
• Place the finished model out of direct sunlight; plastic yellows in the light.

Who it is for

The kit is a good start for anyone who wants to try a ship model without the drawn-out work on rigging and hundreds of parts, and it will also please collectors of stylized models for the shelf. Paints, glue and a pedestal are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.